THE EAGLE'S LAST TRIUMPH
NAPOLEON'S VICTORY AT LIGNY, JUNE 1815
by Andrew Uffindell

9 x 6 in. 272 pages.  27 halftones, 6 drawings, 20 maps.

Napoleon won his final victory on 16 June 1815, just before the crushing defeat at Waterloo. Facing two enemy armies, he aimed his main attack at Blücher's Prussian forces at Ligny and diverted Wellington's attention by engaging the Anglo-Allied forward elements at Quatre Bras. The Eagle's Last Triumph is the most comprehensive examination of this vital aspect of the 1815 campaign available in English.

The scene is set with the battle of Ligny viewed in context as part of the overall campaign. The action at Ligny and Quatre Bras is then described in detail, using much eye-witness testimony. The complex story of Wellington and Blücher's cooperation throughout the struggle against the French is made clear, with new light on Wellington's promises of prompt aid to the Prussians in the early stages of the campaign - promises that he did not keep. On the French side, General d'Erlon was involved in a fiasco that resulted in his failure to bring support to the forces at either Ligny or Quatre Bras. The author traces how this happened, and how the main culprits in the affair sought to cover up their responsibility for it.

The Eagle's Last Triumph is a vivid military epic, providing a cogent and lucid explanation of why Napoleon, victorious at Ligny, met with utter defeat two days later at Waterloo.

' Serious students of Napoleonic campaigns must not hesitate to seek out The Eagle's Last Triumph, a brilliant book on Ligny... What Uffindell offers in The Eagle's Last Triumph is not merely a detailed look at an analysis of this classic Napoleonic clash but a fresh insight into the overall Waterloo campaign itself... He not only provides a vivid and evocative description of the battle but also draws perceptive and often startling conclusions about the campaign and the leaders who won and lost it... The book has many other excellent features. The numerous detailed maps and diagrams perfectly supplement the text, and the guide to the battlefield at Ligny is one that visitors to the battlefield will find most useful. The analytical chapter describing in detail how Napoleon's Imperial Guard managed to achieve a breakthrough at Ligny yet failed just two days later at Waterloo is military history at its best... Uffindell is that rare combination in military historians - outstanding researcher and sparkling writer. The Eagle's Last Triumph is a brilliant, perceptive, thoroughly original and dynamic work... History buffs can go out and get this one and confidently put it right up there on their shelves next to the works of David Chandler and Jac Weller. '

- Military History (U.S.A.)
 ' A triumph indeed! Uffindell's new work concentrates on the Battle of Ligny in exceptional detail and for students of the Waterloo Campaign it is an essential purchase... Highly recommended. '
- First Empire
 ' This book fills a significant gap in the readily-available accounts of the 1815 campaign... thorough and well-researched. '
- British Army Review
 ' A brilliant analysis of the battle. '
- Byron Farwell
 ' Andrew Uffindell mast be praised for undertaking a specific study of this battle, fascinating in itself and crucial to the subsequent events culminating in Napoleon's final emphatic defeat... an excellent text... detailed and balanced... this work is essentially unique in dealing so effectively with this key battle and would seem a cricial addition to anyone claiming to be interested in the culmination of the Napoleonic Wars. '
- Military Illustrated
 ' A refreshing analysis of the Waterloo campaign... very readable and detailed. A highly recommended addition to any library on the events of 1815. '
- The Age of Napoleon
 ' A success... [Uffindell] is to be praised and encouraged. '
- War in History
 ' Meticulously researched. '
- Philip Warner in the Daily Telegraph
  Greenhill Books  ISBN 1-85367-182-7

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